Deadly Consequences

Annette says she wants the right to euthanize her severely-disabled children, who are being kept alive only by feeding tubes. What would you do? Then, former model, Stephanie Vostry, says she’s fighting to survive chronic Lyme disease, an illness some believe she may be faking.

Mercy or Murder?

“My daughter broke her thumb once. No one knew about it,
because she couldn’t voice that,” Annette responds. “So, how do we know
if she’s suffering?” She admits that she doesn’t know whether her
children are feeling pain. “I hope they’re not, but I don’t know.”

Attorney
Geoffrey Fieger, who gained notoriety for his outspoken defense of the
late assisted suicide advocate, Dr. Jack Kevorkian, joins the show.
“Annette obviously wouldn’t be in this situation but for the advancement
of science,” he says. “She’s faced with an unbelievably difficult
decision. Her children are being warehoused. Whether or not they’re in
physical pain, they’re clearly not existing.”

In the
previously-recorded documentary, Annette admits, “There have been times
when I thought about doing something myself [to end my children’s
lives].” To her critics, she says, “Unless you’ve been there, don’t
judge.”

Ruthi, mother of seven, including three with special
needs, says the idea of euthanizing disabled children is nauseating and
the same as putting a gun to their heads. She addresses Annette from the audience. “I’m sorry that those children
are the way they are. I’m sorry that my child might be that way some
day,” Ruthi says. “I will not euthanize my child because it’s too much
trouble for me [to keep them alive].”

“No one said it was too much trouble,” Annette interjects. “You’re saying it wrong.”